If you stay in Krabi, you are bound to visit some of those beautiful islands in the area. There are many to choose from, the weirdly shaped Chicken Island, the James Bond Island (famous – obviously – thanks to one of the Bond movies, The Man with the Golden Gun), the lovely Hong Island or the National Park of the Phi Phi Islands which became notorically famous thanks to the movie The Beach, starring young Leonardo Di Caprio.

These two places are widely discussed online and the opinions on them differ greatly. My personal one is that the Hot Stream is overrated and a complete rip off, especially if you go off season, but the Emerald Pool is quite a stun – especially at low season when not many tourists are around.

Dragon Crest
If you love trekking and hiking, you are bound to fall in love with the lush jungle and cliff area of Krabi. Among my top treks there would definitely be the amazing jungle trek of Dragon Crest (Khao Ngon Nak), the Tiger Cave trek and The Emerald Pool and Hot Stream trek.

When it comes to living in Thailand, you are bound to speak about the local cuisine. Thai cuisine is something people love to talk about because yes, it is good, with a spicy edge, lots of herbs and other ingredients with medicinal benefits (such as garlic and onion), colourful, varied, and nutritious.

Working in Marina Yoga and Reiki centre in Krabi, Thailand, you are constantly exposed to a high degree of spirituality, which might be inspiring but sometimes also demanding. Time runs quickly here with two yoga classes every day, reiki healing sessions, going to beaches, temples and for forest walks with the ten dogs Marina has taken in to look after so that they would not go stray in the streets.

Yes, I am off for another journey, another adventure. A month in a yoga and reiki centre in Krabi, Thailand, with a flight to Bangkok then to feel like a tourist for a couple of days, and then off for another yoga centre, this time for two months – in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. And then, if all goes well, a month in the Sunshine Coast near Brisbane, spent by dog-sitting, with a Christmas invitation from the family who I will helping.

When my dream brought me to Bali, I had no idea that it is such a Hindu place. I was equally ignorant of how important water is for the Hindu people. I simply had this Ulun Danu temple in my dream and since I have always felt so drawn to water and this is a water temple, I set off. I wrote about my experience in Ulun Danu and the connection through rain and meditation in a previous text on this blog. But there were more stunning experiences for me on this island that deepened my spiritual awareness and helped me understand what water truly is to me.

Many people come to Bali with great expectations, believing (partially thanks to the Eat, Pray, Love movie, partially due to some holiday snaps of their friends which often avoid the raw reality) that it is a pristine clear island with handsome men and loving, spiritual people that will always bring a smile to your face. Well, here are the ten things you should know about Bali before going there (especially if you are Western and have never been to Asia).

OK. It IS a bit of a cliché, right? Everybody says you have to see this artistic Mekka of Ubud with all its yoga studios, vegan and vegetarian restaurants, rice fields all around, a great many temples (known from the first Indiana Jones movie) and even art galleries and museums, where you can buy most of the products you would generally expect to be able to buy in the Western world.